


Sportsmanlike Conduct: Deleted/Bonus Scenes

by mogirl97



Series: Sportsmanlike Conduct [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Bonus Scenes, Deleted Scenes, F/M, You don't necessarily have to read the main story to read these, but some of them will definitely make more sense in context of the whole story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-04-12 01:59:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4460990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mogirl97/pseuds/mogirl97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Extra stuff in my Sportsmanlike Conduct 'verse that didn't make it into the main story + BONUS SCENES :))))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deleted Scene #1

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes there are ideas that just don’t end up fitting in with the flow of the story but I still want to write them… so you’re going to get a few “deleted scenes” for my Sportsmanlike Conduct fic :)
> 
> Deleted Scene #1: This part takes place during Christmas break sometime after Oliver takes Felicity to the foundry. It worked better to go right into the three games with the scouts so that’s why I originally scrapped this.

“Tell me again why we’re doing this?” Oliver asked as Felicity laid out the yoga mats they had found in his mom’s private gym.

“You made me do the salmon ladder, now I’m going to make you do some yoga,” Felicity answered, “Besides, it will help you get your mind off your upcoming games.”

_Also I have eaten a lot of food over break and I’d like to be able to still fit in something other than my yoga pants when we go back to school._

“I can think of some other things that would help me get my mind—“

Oliver paused as Felicity pulled her tank top off, revealing a bright pink sports bra, and stood at the top of her mat.

“Later,” she replied with narrowed eyes and then winked, “If you’re a good student. Now go stand at the top of your mat.”

Oliver complied and she began to lead him through some warm up vinyasas.

“Can you seriously not even touch your toes? The old ladies at the retirement home could touch their toes, I don’t think you’re even trying,” Felicity commented as they sunk into forward fold and her hands met the ground.

She watched in amusement as Oliver attempted to match her form, finally loosening up enough to touch his toes.

“Okay now jump back into plank,” she directed.

“I can do this,” Oliver boasted, “We do planks with weight plates resting on us.”

“Fantastic, now press up into downward dog.”

“What?”

“Put your booty in the sky,” Felicity simplified with a giggle and demonstrated.

She tilted her head to the side and grinned at the sight in front of her.

_This is definitely better than teaching the old folks._

“What’s next?” Oliver asked.

“Give me a second, I’m admiring the view.”

“Ummm I think it’s very important that we maintain a professional instructor/student relationship,” Oliver teased.

“Oh really? Then I guess there’s some positions I’ll be leaving out of today’s class,” she replied.

“I guess I shouldn’t miss out on the full yoga experience…”

Felicity responded by releasing the pose, lowering to the ground and rolling underneath him, “Now bend your arms and slowly lower yourself down.”

He settled on top of her and raised an eyebrow, “Is this a real yoga pose?”

“No, I just want you to kiss me,” she admitted and reached up to pull his head down to her.

“Now that’s something I think I’ve mastered,” Oliver murmured into her lips.

She sighed as she parted her lips to allow his tongue to sweep across her own.

_I have to agree._

After a few moments she pushed up on his shoulders, “We’re not done with yoga yet.”

Oliver let out a noise of protest as she wriggled out from underneath him and hopped up.

“Stand up,” she instructed and rested her foot on the inside of her thigh for tree pose.

“Are you serious?” Oliver pouted.

She propped her hands on her hips, “Yes I am; now let me see your tree.”

He struggled to balance and she held out an arm to help steady him. Once he was stable she released him and grabbed her toes to extend her leg out straight up over her head.

“Yeah, there is no way that’s happening,” Oliver remarked, “But I’m going to remember your range of motion for later.”

Felicity bit her lip and lowered her leg back down to the ground. After they had repeated the pose on the other side, and she showed him some stretches she recommended he do after his practices, Felicity showed off some of the trickier balances and inversions she could do while Oliver watched on in amazement.

“Impressive,” he commented as she gracefully dismounted from a handstand, “Did you have the retiree’s doing that?”

She laughed and shook her head, “Yeah, no.”

She came to sit in his lap and reached up to wipe a bead of sweat off his forehead, “Harder than you thought it would be, huh?”

“I am very sweaty.”

“You could probably use a shower.”

He pushed a strand of hair that had slipped out of her ponytail off her face, “You could too. Did you know that my shower is even better than the one in your guest room?”

“Is this so?”

He nodded, “Twice the size.”

“Well then it only makes sense that we shower together since we’ll have plenty of room,” Felicity stated matter-of-factly.

“Mhmmm,” Oliver stood up and lifted her to her feet, “Except I can’t guarantee that much “getting clean” will be happening.”

She looked at him with faux innocence, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Are you saying that the whole point of this little class and you wearing those tiny spandex shorts was not just to get me riled up?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You are a terrible liar,” Oliver replied and hauled her up over his shoulder.


	2. Bonus Scene #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hotel scene from chapter 12 in Oliver's POV

The hot water relaxed his muscles but did nothing for the ache in his heart. She had been there, at the game. At first he couldn’t believe it actually was her. I mean, sure he was only a few minutes from her school, but they hadn’t spoken in over a year, why would she show up? At second glance though, he knew for sure that the blonde ponytail and sparkling blue eyes couldn’t belong to anyone else. He would have to remember to thank Thea for inviting her along. Seeing her, even just for a brief moment, happy and smiling reassured him that he made the right decision. As much as he missed her, as much as he wanted to see her after the game, he knew he had to let her go. Let her be happy without him because he just couldn’t be the person she deserved. He made his choice to focus on hockey, and yeah there was a part of him that questioned if that was the right choice, but for now he was sticking with it. Shutting off the water, he stepped out and grabbed his towel. He heard his security personnel talking to someone outside the door. Probably just another woman interested in getting into is bed. Visitors like that were frequent, and all were turned away. Just because he could have just about anyone didn’t mean he wanted to. He had assured Felicity that he wasn’t exchanging her for a string of one night stands and he had meant it. That wasn’t who he was anymore. If he was going to be with someone, it was going to be a commitment, and it was going to be her. And he had let her go, so he was going to be alone.

He slipped on a pair of sweatpants and walked out to the bedroom to be greeted by--- Felicity.

“What are you doing here?” slipped out of his mouth and he hoped it hadn’t sounded as harsh to her as it had in his own ears.

She approached him, seemingly un-phased by his tone and he breathed a sigh of relief. The next thing he knew, her hand was on his arm. So small and soft and warm. He wanted to pull her in closer, to take her hands in his and kiss her palms----her babbling broke him out of the haze he was in.

“Well to be honest I don’t really know. I didn’t actually expect to make it this far so I hadn’t really come up with what I was going to do after I got into your room and I---“

He needed to say something or he was going to kiss her.

“I saw you at the game. At first I didn’t think it was actually you though, didn’t know why you would come since you probably hate me.”

He hoped that wasn’t the case though. Hoped that she had seen that he had just wanted the best for her.

She shook her head, “I don’t hate you. I’m mad that you broke up with me supposedly for my own good but never even asked me what I wanted, but I can’t hate you. I still love you-- I want to be with you. Haven’t you realized by now that it’s possible for things to work out between us?”

He fought down the smile that threatened to emerge at hearing her say that she still loved him and wanted to be with him because he knew it meant he was about to break her heart again.

“You shouldn’t have come,” he told her.

At his words, she stiffened and retracted her hand, “Why?”

“Because now I want you to stay, but you can’t. It’s not good for either of us. Nothing has changed, we still can’t be together because I can’t be what you deserve and one night is only going to make things harder.”

So much harder. Not seeing her made it easier for him to stick to his decision. Just having her here in his room was causing his resistance to crumble and that couldn’t happen. Still, it hurt to see anger blaze in her eyes.

“You think I came here because I just wanted one night to sleep with you? Like all the other girls that traipse up here?” she demanded.

Of course not, he knew exactly why she was here. But he couldn’t give her the answer she wanted. At least that’s what he was telling himself. Because to be honest, he was starting to think he was wrong.

“You said you didn’t know what you were doing here.”

In hindsight, he definitely should not have said that.

She swallowed and got that look in her eye that he knew accompanied her loud voice so he braced himself for impact.

“Well even if it was to sleep with you, I certainly don’t want to now. You know, I really hope you love hockey and that playing for the NHL is everything you ever dreamed of since you’ve given up everything you used to care about for it. Your sister misses you, you’ve pushed me out of your life; do you ever even see your other friends? I can’t believe I actually had fooled myself into believing that I could change your mind about us. You are so stubborn. There are tons of guys on your team who have families, so it’s really a lame excuse that you can’t play hockey and be with me.”

Her words and accusations stung, because he knew they were true.

He took a step towards her, maybe he should do what he should have done a long time ago and figure things out with her, maybe they could make things work. She was right, some of his teammates did…

“Felicity…”

She moved backwards and he knew her walls were fully up now as she continued talking, “I’m not done talking yet. But I am done with you. Done letting myself get hung up on someone who cares more about a stupid sport than me. Done dreaming that you’ll change your mind and everything will be like it was before. We could have worked to stay together and I would have supported you in your dreams, I did support you, but now I couldn’t care less. You don’t have to pretend to care anymore either, sleep with whoever you want. It sounds like you get a lot of visitors. I’m sure they’re easy to say goodbye to in the morning and then you don’t have to worry about the burden of actually loving someone.”

Any hope he had that he could back-pedal flew out the window and he cringed. She whipped around and stormed out the door before he could say anything. He ran his hands down his face in frustration.

On one hand, he hoped that she would be able to move on and be happy with someone else now.

On the other, her being here had been the slap in the face that made him finally realize that he was being an idiot and they probably could still be together… but it was too late. If she didn’t hate him before, her words hadn’t given him much confidence that that was not the case now.


	3. Bonus Scene #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of Oliver's thoughts in context of chapter 15

Clouds distorted Oliver’s view of his hometown that was getting closer and closer underneath the jet. He leaned back in his seat and prepared for the announcement from his pilot that they would be landing soon. It still didn’t feel real to him, that everything was over so fast, that he wouldn’t play another game in the NHL. Even when his life had been a mess, he always had that dream that pushed him. He had sacrificed so much so that he could feel the roars of the crowd pounding in his head as he skated onto the ice… and now everything was silent. Uncertain of what would be waiting for him when he got home, he dreaded the moment the plane would touch down. He hadn’t told anyone of his dismissal yet, they would find out soon enough. Either by his arrival on their doorstep, the brief blurb on Sports Center that would probably play tomorrow, or idle gossip. There was at least one person he knew that wouldn’t regard the news with much interest or care. No, he had long lost her interest, of that he was certain. He had thought that they would attempt a friendship, long distance though it may be, but instead there was nothing. Not a shred of contact other than an occasional comment made by Thea. It was his fault. He had pushed her away. And it seemed that at just the moment that he was realizing that that was a mistake, she was accepting it and disconnecting herself from him. Had it had been any other girl that he had allowed into his heart for the briefest of moments that he had with her, less than a year in hindsight, she would have long been forgotten. A million other girls taken her place. But it wasn’t just that he was no longer the careless person he had been in the years before he had met her, no, it was the way she had captured his heart. She had been perfect for him, he knew that, and yet he screwed it up. Feeling that he couldn’t be perfect for her had been the motivation for letting her go, but as good as his intentions, he had mostly just been a jerk. He cringed as he replayed their rare interactions over the past years. Some had been good, like their peaceful truce at his hospital bed and the almost kiss at his house, but for the most part he had just made things worse between them. The pilot’s voice broke through his thoughts as he announced that it was time to prepare for landing.

Buckling his seatbelt he came to the realization that he was probably going to see her at some point. She worked for his father now, and despite his every protest, it was almost inevitable that that was where he was going to end up too. Not to mention the fact that her and Thea were so close, she probably frequented the house. Would she be cold to him? The two years without contact made him unsure of her feelings toward him. Maybe he was being a little too egotistical to assume that she had thought of him at all, perhaps indifference is what he could expect from her. Why did it matter so much to him? Oh, because he wanted her to love him again. He didn’t know what he was doing, what steps he would take next in his career but he knew that whatever he choose he wanted her by his side this time. It was probably wishful thinking, but he hoped that there was a small part of her that would be happy to see him, willing to forgive him.

The plane landed and he tossed his duffle over his shoulder. Going to the house right away wasn’t an option. It was late and he was still reeling from everything that had gone down at practice. That, plus the thoughts swirling through his head, created a rush of emotions that he needed to numb. His driver awaited him at the tarmac and he instructed him to take him to a bar he and Tommy had frequented way back when.

* * *

He wasn’t expecting to run into her there. He certainly wasn’t expecting that he would ask her out on a date. What had possibly possessed him to skip so far ahead in what was appropriate for where they were at relationship wise was a mystery to him. Her rejection was unsurprising. And deep down, the fact that she had moved on to someone new wasn’t that much of a surprise either. Of course she would be perfect for someone else other than him. That was who she was. So although he wasn’t giving up just yet, things weren’t exactly looking hopeful with her. However, the words that she had spoken earlier had planted an idea in his brain. A way to keep his dream alive… just in a little bit of a different way. Returning inside, he plunked down the money for his drinks and called his driver to come pick him up. At the driver’s arrival, he gave him an address that the man regarded with a flicker of confusion over his face but silently took him to. Once they were there, Oliver stepped out of the car and assessed the foundry, his old place of solitude. Yes, it would be perfect for what he envisioned.


	4. Bonus Scene #3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This scene takes place after the events of chapter 18

Thea looked up as soon as he walked into the living room. Turning down the volume on her tv show, she narrowed her eyes appraisingly at him.

“What’s that look for?”

He realized that he was still wearing the smile that had been on his face since he watched Felicity’s ponytail swish back and forth as she walked out the door of BBB. Lots of things had changed over the years, but her signature hairstyle wasn’t one of them.

Shrugging, he answered her, “I had dinner with Felicity.”

“Ahh,” Thea patted the seat next to her on the couch, and he joined her, “I’m going to guess it went pretty well?”

Oliver let out a huff of air, “Better than I expected, that’s for sure. We needed to talk, and she really opened up to me for the first time in years.”

“And…” Thea implored.

He ran a hand down his face, “I was such a jerk to her.”

Thea raised an eyebrow, “You’re just now realizing that?”

“No, I knew it before. I just wish that I hadn’t waited this long to apologize, to stop pretending that I didn’t need to apologize because eventually she would realize that I had made the best decision for her,” his shoulders slumped, “I don’t even know how to make the right decisions for myself half the time, let alone for someone else.”

Thea leaned into his shoulder, “Beating yourself up isn’t going to fix anything, and the smile you had on your face earlier indicated that your night didn’t end with her telling you that you ruined her life, so what did she say?”

“I apologized as best as I could, I don’t think words will ever be enough to make up for everything though, and I laid my cards on the table. If I learned anything, it’s that I can’t just decide things for her, so if I’m going to still be in her life, it would only be because she wants it. And she does--- she forgave me,” Oliver recounted, still in a bit of disbelief. When she had reached across the table to him at the restaurant and told him that she forgave him, his heart had skipped a beat. He had fully prepared himself for her to close off to him again, she had every right to. And yet, she was giving him a second chance. “So I guess we’re… friends now.”

Thea tapped her chin contemplatively, “You said that words will never be enough to make up for everything, so what are you going to _do_?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oliver, are you really going to be content with just being her friend forever?”

“Well—I---- if that’s what she wants…” he fumbled.

“Maybe it is, but maybe it isn’t. Maybe she just wants to make you work for her heart a little. You can say all the nice words you want, but if you want to win her back you’re going to have to _do_ something.  While also being respectful that maybe she really does just want to be friends, so don’t be dumb about it like you were before. Just be the best friend you can to her and make sure she knows how important she is to you, with a little sly wooing,” Thea added with a wink, “And that concludes my sisterly advice for the evening. But Oliver, if you hurt Felicity again, we’re going to have problems. She’s my best friend, and I have to look out for her.”

“Thank you for the advice. And I promise I won’t; I never want to break her heart again. You know, you’re very smart about relationships for someone who met her boyfriend when he stole her purse,” Oliver teased.

“Hey! He’s a reformed criminal now,” Thea protested and Oliver laughed.

“I’m just messing with you. Roy’s a good kid, he’s part of the reason for what I’m doing in the Glades---“

Thea opened up her mouth to speak but Oliver continued, “---- and you will find out all about it in a few days.”

Thea huffed in frustration, “Okay but I have one question. Do I get a clipboard?”

Oliver grinned, “You can have a clipboard.”

She leaned back against the couch cushions and turned the volume back up on her show, “That’s all I need to know. I became quite fond of my clipboard during my wedding planning days.”

Shaking his head in amusement, Oliver stood up and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, “See you in the morning Speedy.”

Ascending the stairs to his room, he mulled over Thea’s words. She was right, he could be happy with just being friends with Felicity now, but what about when she started dating someone else? Just because things didn’t work out with Eddie didn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t come by and sweep her off her feet. No, he wouldn’t be okay with just being her friend then. Something that she had said earlier came back to him. She had said that she wanted to be friends… _for now_. So maybe he had a chance. He knew that she was the one for him, now he just needed to figure out what he needed to do to make her trust him with her heart again. At his desk he pulled out his phone and found the number for the Sherwood Florist. He had gotten Felicity flowers a lot in college, she loved having them on her desk, but it had been a while since he has used their services.

“Sherwood Florist, how may I help you?”

Now seemed like a good time to get them back on his frequent contacts list.


	5. Bonus Scene #4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Christmas party with all of Oliver's little hockey students and Felicity is either super pregnant or about to tell Oliver later that night that they're gonna be parents. Or both!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part of my Olicity Fanfiction Christmas Countdown on tumblr and is set in between the original epilogue and the extended epilogue of the main story :) Enjoy!

“For the last time, we’re not cancelling the holiday party and you’re not skipping out on it. The kids have been looking forward to this for weeks now. My due date is not for another four days and she’s going to be late anyway, I can tell.”

Felicity tugged her sweater down over her full, round belly and frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

_Hopefully not too late though… I can’t take too many more days of being this huge._

“Oh you can tell?” Oliver echoed teasingly, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her to rest his hands on her stomach and eliciting a kick from their daughter. “She seems pretty impatient to me.”

“Laurel said she could tell that Rebecca was going to be late, and she was,” Felicity pointed out. “Besides, my mom isn’t getting here for another two days so she needs to at least wait until then to make her arrival.”

“Okay. But don’t feel like you have to do anything today. Thea’s got everything under control.”

She nodded, “I will just show up and be my fat, pregnant self. Maybe I should have dressed up like Santa…”

Oliver chuckled and kissed her cheek, “You look beautiful.” 

She smiled at their reflections in the mirror, “Are we ready for this?”

Her getting pregnant only a month after their wedding hadn’t exactly been in their game plan. It had been a crazy week at work though and, well… some things had been forgotten. Nerves had filled her stomach with butterflies when she set out the little pair of skates next to Oliver’s and waited to see what his reaction would be.

She shouldn’t have worried.

Once the initial shock wore off, he was beyond thrilled, which made it easier for her to process everything. As the weeks went on and she would walk into his office at the hockey center and see the ultrasound photos tucked into the bottom corner of the picture frame on his desk or come home to him painting the spare bedroom in the loft to turn into a nursery, her heart swelled in her chest. Now that her due date was impending, the nervous jitters had mostly turned to excited anticipation.

“I don’t think you can ever be completely ready for your whole world to change.”

She sighed, “Yeah.”

“The last time I went out with Tommy and John, they talked about strollers basically the entire time and we had to be back by 8:30 for bedtime. _Their bedtime_.” He grinned reassuringly, “So I would say it’s changing for the better.”

She returned his grin and then, tilting her head back to look up at him, she whispered, “I love you.”

He swiveled her around to face him and pulled her in as close as possible with her bump in between them before cupping her cheek with his hand, “I love you too. Will you be good to leave in 10 minutes?”

She nodded, “Yep.”

* * *

 

“Felicity, I wasn’t sure we would see you today. How are you feeling?” Thea asked when they walked through the doors of the hockey center which had been festively decorated for Christmas and Hanukkah.

“Pregnant,” Felicity sighed, her back starting to ache.

_Maybe I should have just stayed home after all. My nest of pillows I have set up in our bed is sounding really good right now._

“Mmm, I remember the days when that qualified as its own emotion,” Lyla piped up from where she was strapping her twins into highchairs.

“Amen,” Laurel chimed in, her one-month year old Rebecca snuggled against her chest in a sling.

One of the upsides to her getting pregnant so quickly is that they were starting their family at the same time as Tommy and Laurel were, despite the fact that they had gotten married a few years before them. It had been fun to shop for baby things with Laurel, and Tommy and Oliver were excited that their daughters would be so close in age and hoped they would have a friendship like they did.  

She attempted to help with finishing setting up, but was immediately steered over to a chair by Oliver to just sit down and it wasn’t long before the kids in the program started to arrive, some with parents or older siblings, some alone.

“Coach Felicity! Happy Hanukkah!” One of the little girls rambled over to her and tried to give her an awkward hug but ended up just patting her baby bump gently before running off to join her friends and she bit back a laugh at the sweet gesture.

Beaming with pride, she watched Oliver take the time to greet everyone individually, knowing that the investment that he had made into the children and teenagers of the Glades was not futile. For some of them, Oliver, and Roy, John, Tommy, and Thea too, were the only adults who had ever really taken the time to encourage them and make them feel important. Their teams had started out a little rag-tag, but as the center got established and the players started to improve, they were being more competitive in the local league. Oliver had even brought out some of the coaching staff from Starling U to scout some of the high schoolers for college scholarships, opening doors for opportunities they never would have had before.

It made her happy to see his vision for the center come to fruition. While she knew that he wouldn’t trade his life now to still be playing professional hockey, she also knew that he had been disappointed at the thought that he had worked almost his whole life for something that hadn’t amounted to everything he had dreamed it would be thanks to his knee injury. Looking around, it was clear that he was going to be leaving behind a legacy that was so much more than a few seasons in the NHL. 

She rubbed her belly and felt the powerful kick of her restless daughter. Taking a deep breath, she shifted in her seat and attempted to get comfortable.

Oliver caught her eye from across the room where the kids were chattering happily while eating pizza at tables they had set up in the space between the two ice rinks and he raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I’m fine,” she mouthed, putting on what she hoped looked like a relaxed smile.

The last thing she wanted was to have to pull Oliver away from the party and all the kids clambering for his attention but, _oh boy was she not fine_. She tried to remember everything that her OBGYN had told her about the signs that she was close to labor because she was pretty sure she was ticking most of those boxes at the moment.

“You’re supposed to have a few more days in there,” she whispered.  

Everyone started to slowly get up from the tables and move out onto the ice to skate and Oliver came over to her, squeezing her shoulder gently, “Are you going to be okay staying here while I go skate with them for a bit?”

“Yeah, yeah go,” she waved her hand towards the ice. “Have fun. I’m just a little uncomfortable, but it’s nothing more than how the past 24 hours have been. And you know me, I’m tough. Lyla and Laurel will keep an eye on me.” 

_Breathe. Just breathe._

Oliver looked at her skeptically but finally conceded, kissing her forehead before heading towards one of the rinks that was filling with skaters.

Once he had disappeared, Laurel came over and took one of her hands in hers, “Are you sure you’re really okay?”

She shook her head, “Uh no. I’ve been having contractions since last night, but I was still able to sleep a little, so I thought that maybe they were just the fake-out ones since I’m not due yet.”

“And now?”

“And now…” Her eyes widened, “My water just broke.”

Laurel squeezed her hand, “Okay, let’s get you out of here because you don’t want to have a baby at an ice rink with at least 50 people under the age of 16 watching.”

“That would definitely be memorable,” Felicity attempted to joke before groaning.

Laurel waved Tommy over from where he was helping a little girl lace up her skates, “Felicity needs to go to the hospital now. Get Oliver.”

“No, no I don’t want to drag him away from this…” Felicity muttered, her pain intensifying and making her grip Laurel’s hand tighter. “The party will be over in like an hour and it’ll probably still be a while even once I get to the hospital.”

Laurel and Tommy shared a glance before turning back to her. “Oliver will kill both of us if we are complicit in him missing the birth of his first child,” Tommy remarked before turning on his heel and running off towards the ice.

Lyla must have sensed that something was happening because she appeared at her side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before looking to Laurel.

“Her water broke,” Laurel reported. “Tommy’s getting Oliver now.”

“Okay Felicity, just breathe,” Lyla advised calmly.

She looked up at her two friends who were shielding her from any curious eyes and sucked in a deep breath, attempting to ignore the pain shooting through her as she experienced another contraction. “Where’s Oliver?” she whimpered, any pretense of not wanting to make him leave the party early abandoned.

“He’s coming,” Laurel promised.

Oliver and Tommy hurried over a few seconds later with Thea on their heels.

“I’m going to drive,” Thea announced.

“And we’ll take care of the rest of the party,” Tommy assured them, Laurel and Lyla nodding in agreement.

“You’re doing to do great Felicity,” Laurel remarked while Oliver helped her carefully to her feet and she smiled weakly at her.  

Oliver clapped Tommy’s shoulder, “We’ll keep you guys posted.”

She shuffled out of the rink with Oliver’s help to where Thea had already pulled their car to the front entrance. Oliver eased her into the back seat and she settled in with her head resting on his shoulder.

He whispered reassurances as he stroked her hair comfortingly and she focused on that to keep the pain from consuming her while Thea navigated them to Starling General.

“If I say anything really awful, please don’t take it personally,” she requested while they wheeled her to a delivery room. “I love you more than anything and you’re amazing and I don’t know how I would be able to do this without you, but I’m also in excruciating pain and I can’t be held responsible if I get mean.”

Oliver chuckled, “Okay. Thanks for the warning.”

* * *

 

Almost four and a half long hours later, Felicity blinked sleepily and looked up at her husband with adoration. Their tiny daughter was cradled against his chest and she felt tears well up in her eyes. Everything had gone smoothly, but that didn’t mean that it had been easy. She didn’t remember most of what happened, but she did know that Oliver was definitely going to have bruises from where she dug her fingers into his forearm and that she had used her loud voice more than once with everyone in the room. Looking at Oliver holding Natalie though, made all of the hard parts worth it. They had already decided on the name Natalie, but it’s meaning, “Christmas Day,” seemed even more fitting now since she had arrived just a few days before the holiday.

“The best present ever,” Oliver had whispered when the nurse first handed her to him and Felicity had felt her heart melt.

Laurel had told her that having Rebecca had made her fall even more in love with Tommy and, while Felicity hadn’t been sure how she could possibly love Oliver more, she understood now.

If only she could go back and show her younger, heartbroken self the scene that was in front of her now. Promise her that everything was going to fall perfectly into place. The years that her and Oliver had spent apart seemed trivial now in light of the future that she could see for them now.

She knew in her bones that Oliver would be everything her father had failed to be, and that filled her with the reassurance that they absolutely were ready for this new chapter in their lives. They could figure all the little things out along the way.

“When I was younger,” Oliver began when he noticed that she was awake. “I thought the greatest thing I would ever get to hold would be the Stanley Cup. For years, I dreamed of having that trophy in my hands. And now— now I think about what might have happened if I hadn’t gotten hurt. I might have held the Stanley Cup at some point in my career, but not your hands as we said our wedding vows, or our daughter right now. And the two of you are definitely better than any trophy.”

“Plus you don’t have to worry about losing us to some other team next season,” she remarked teasingly as she brushed away a tear and he huffed in amusement.  

“How are you feeling?” he asked, coming closer to her bed.

“Perfect. Well, a little sore, but mostly perfect.”

“Good. I love you.”

She smiled, “I love you too.”

“I kind of doubted that when you were yelling at me,” he remarked, a sleepy grin on his face.

She let out a tired, breathy laugh, “Sorry. To be fair though, I did warn you.”

He handed Natalie to her and she snuggled against her chest to eat. “You’ve been keeping my mom updated, right?”

“Yes, while you were napping I talked her through changing her flight. She’s a little bummed she missed being here for you, but she’ll get in tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Can you text Iris for me?”

He nodded and sat down in the chair next to her bed to pull out his phone.

She looked down at Natalie and sighed, “I really thought she was going to be late.”

“Well thankfully it seems like she’s not going to inherit that particular trait from me,” he joked.

“Mmm.” She smiled, “There’s a lot of things that I hope she does get from you though.”

“Like my—“

They were interrupted by a soft knock on the door and Oliver walked over to check who it was.

“It’s Thea, are you okay with her coming in?”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine. I think she’s almost done eating anyway.”

Oliver swung open the door and Thea stepped in with an excited grin on her face.

“How is everybody?”

“Tired, but good,” Felicity reported. “You want to hold your niece?”

She nodded enthusiastically and walked over to the little sink to wash her hands before taking Natalie into her arms.

“Hey,” she whispered. “I’m your Aunt Thea. You have me to thank for your existence because your silly parents never would have gotten back together without my help.”

“ _Thea_ ,” Oliver chastised.

“What? It’s true.”

Felicity laughed softly and reached for Oliver’s hand. Thea might have given them some helpful nudges, but she liked to think that they always would have found their way back to each other, because it was impossible to imagine having anyone else by her side in this moment.


	6. Bonus Scene #5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of my countdown to Christmas, this takes place after the extended epilogue in the main story, enjoy!

“Mommy I can’t find my skates…”

Felicity looked down at Natalie tugging on the hem of her shirt, “Where did you put them when you got home from the rink yesterday sweetheart?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know.”

“Oliver?” She hollered out into the hallway. “Can you help Natalie look for her skates? We have to leave in ten minutes or we’re going to be late, and I still have to finish getting Robby ready.”

“Yes honey!” She heard him yell back from downstairs.

Natalie ran off to Oliver and she turned her attention back to her son, “Are you ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s?” She tickled his stomach and he wriggled around on the changing table, a smile on his face. “You’re going to be the center of attention, aren’t you?”

Once she had him dressed in his onesie that had a little bowtie printed on it, a baby shower gift from Iris and Barry, she grabbed his diaper bag, quickly checked her appearance in the mirror to make sure that she looked presentable, and headed downstairs.

“Did you find the skates?” she asked, strapping Robby into his car seat.

“Yep,” Oliver confirmed, brushing a kiss to her cheek. “You look pretty.”

She gave him a small smile, “Thank you, you’re looking quite handsome yourself. Is the car all loaded up with the presents?”

He nodded, “I think we’re all ready to go if you are.”

“Okay.” She picked up Robby’s car seat and handed it to Oliver. “Natalie! Coat on baby, it’s time to leave.”

She could only vaguely remember the years where she and Oliver only had to be responsible for getting themselves to the Queen Mansion for the family holiday party. Nowadays it was diaper bags and car seats and missing skates and… she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Growing up, it was always just her and her mom, and usually her mom was working long hours all through Hanukkah, so to have a big family to spend the holidays with was everything she had secretly dreamed of as a child.

When they arrived at Oliver’s parents’ home, Natalie bounded out of the car excitedly and she had her hand on the car handle to get out as well when Oliver spoke up.

“Felicity?”

She turned her head, “Yea—“

He cut her off with his hands coming up to frame her face and his lips pressed to hers. Clutching onto his arm, she didn’t care that she was awkwardly wedged against the center console of the car as he tugged at her bottom lip and his nose brushed against hers.

When he pulled away she asked, “What was that for?”

“I just really like kissing you.”

She smiled and gave him one more quick chaste kiss before getting out of the car.

_If we didn’t have a baby sitting in our backseat, I would definitely be contemplating how long we could reasonably stay out here before someone came looking for us._

Opening the back door, she grabbed Robby’s car seat and the diaper bag, while Oliver got the box of presents, before heading towards the house.

“There you are. I was just asking Natalie if she drove here herself,” Moira greeted them when they walked into the foyer.

“That’s silly Grandma, I’m only four and a half,” Natalie piped up while Oliver set the box of presents down to give his mom a hug.

“Are we the first ones here?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. Your father had a last minute conference call this morning so he’s in his study, but he’s hoping to be done before we eat. Tommy and Laurel should be here any minute now, and your sister said that she and Roy might be a little late,” Moira answered, before turning to her. “Felicity…”  

She gave her a hug, “It’s good to see you Moira.”

From the beginning, the Queen matriarch had always made her feel welcome, and Felicity could still remember the days when she had her own guest room at the mansion. Even during the years that she and Oliver had not been on speaking terms, she had maintained her close relationship with the Queen family through her friendship with Thea and her job at the company, and she knew that Moira had been pleased when her and Oliver reunited.

_“As a mother, the thing that I want most is for my children to be happy. And he was always his happiest when he was with you,” she had confided in her._

“Now let me see that grandson of mine…”

And even more pleased when the grandbabies started arriving.

Felicity picked Robby up out of his car seat and handed him over to her.

“Oh he’s getting so big. And he looks just like Oliver did at this age, except he has your mouth I think. Remind me to get some pictures from Oliver’s baby album for you before you leave…”

They heard a knock and Tommy, Laurel and Rebecca came through the door, the foyer quickly becoming a jumble of noise as everyone greeted one another.

“How was Central City?” Felicity asked.

Laurel shrugged, “A little awkward since Mom’s new boyfriend was there and navigating those situations is never easy. She was really happy to see Rebecca though and I’m not going to keep her from being grandma just because her and dad split, so I was glad we made the trip. We also got to have dinner with Caitlin and Ronnie one night and that was great. It had been far too long since we saw them.”

“Ugh I’m so jealous, but things have been way too crazy at work and home for us to have been able to join you. Iris and Barry are going to be in town a few days for the holidays but I haven’t seen Cait and Ronnie in forever either. How are they?”

“They’re doing well, STAR Labs is keeping them very busy with building something called a particle accelerator. They’re hoping to find time to come visit for an Archer’s game some time this season though, so we’ll have to all get together then.”    

“Oh definitely. I sometimes wish we were still in college because we saw each other all the time, but I don’t really want to go back to all the homework and living in a tiny dorm room.”

“Yeah, plus I got along with my roommate, but she doesn’t quite compare to my current one,” Laurel joked, slapping Tommy’s butt.

Tommy grinned and kissed her cheek before shaking his head and declaring, “You know, I had a particularly disagreeable roommate my freshman year before they gave everyone on the hockey team their own suites.”

“Hey!” Oliver protested defensively from across the foyer and Felicity chuckled.

“It’s okay babe, I love being your roommate,” she reassured him with a wink.

_Absolutely no complaints at all about morning snuggles and shared showers and delicious home cooked dinners and watching you with the kids and goodnight kisses…_

_I suppose if I had to have a complaint about something it would be the way our laundry room always smells like a locker room despite the copious amounts of Febreeze, but dealing with that is Just Hockey ~~Girlfriend~~ Wife Things #372 or whatever number I’m on at this point. _

They were about to head towards the dining room for lunch when Roy and Thea arrived.

“Sorry guys, traffic was crazy. I think everyone is out doing last minute shopping for tomorrow,” Thea apologized as she unbuttoned her coat.

Felicity pulled her in for a hug, “You’re right on time, we were just getting ready to eat.”

When they were all seated around the big dining room table, the conversation quickly turned to Roy and Thea’s recent engagement.

“Oooh let’s see the ring,” Laurel prompted and Thea held out her left hand.

Felicity nudged Roy in the shin under the table and whispered, “Nice choice.”

“Thanks for your help,” he muttered gratefully.

Roy had come to her when he was planning his proposal and the two of them had stalked Thea’s Pinterest boards to figure out what kind of ring she would like before Oliver took him to the family vault to make a selection.

“I’m so glad we’re all together today so we can start discussing some details.” Thea began to pull a huge binder out of her bag that was very reminiscent of the ones Felicity remembered from Laurel’s wedding and then hers a few years later.

Felicity reached across the table and plucked the binder from her hands. “Okay, but from here on out, I am taking custody of the binder. It’s your special day, Laurel and I will take good care of you like you did for the two of us.”

“And Caitlin,” Laurel added. “Which we managed to pull off without a binder.”          

_Maybe we should consider a starting a wedding planning business as a side career._

_Okay sure, in what free time would you do that exactly?_

After lunch, Oliver and Tommy decided that it was time to play a little pond hockey.

“Thea, Natalie and I, against you, Roy, and Rebecca,” Oliver suggested. “You and I can play goalies Tommy.”

“Please remember that the girls are only four,” Laurel commented, exchanging a concerned glance with her.

Natalie and Rebecca had definitely inherited their fathers’ athleticism and natural skating ability, but they were also pint sized and she knew how competitive this family could get.

“We’ll play nice,” Thea promised. “Are you sure you and Felicity don’t want to join in?”

She shook her head, “I just had a baby a few months ago, so I should probably sit this one out.” 

“Good point.”

“And then it’ll be uneven if I play,” Laurel pointed out while helping Rebecca put her coat on.

“We will keep score though,” Felicity offered.  

Robby had fallen asleep shortly after lunch so she set him up in the living room with Moira while the rest of them bundled up warmly and gathered up the hockey equipment. Once they were ready they headed outside to load up in the bed of the landscaper’s truck that they rode across the property.  

When they arrived and hopped down from the truck, she patted Oliver’s chest, “Please be careful, you’re not your young college self anymore and I know your knee has been bothering you lately...”

“Are you calling me an old man?” he asked, the teasing glint in his eyes betraying his offended tone.

“No I just—“

The next thing she knew she was being hoisted up in the air and tossed over his shoulder.

_Apparently he’s never going to grow out of being a show-off._

Laughing, she held on tight while he tromped through the snow over to the frozen pond, Natalie trailing behind them and giggling at their antics.

“Don’t worry daddy. If you hurt your knee, mommy can fix it. She’s going to be a doctor, ‘member?”

“Not that kind of doctor sweetheart,” she reminded her while Oliver sat her down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Oliver had encouraged her to get her doctorate in information technology after she had mentioned once that it was still something she had hoped to achieve. She had enrolled in an online program on a whim before finding out she was pregnant with Robby and, at the rate she was currently going, it was going to take her forever to get those letters after her name. There was only so much time she could devote to it on top of her growing responsibilities at QC and, while Oliver would gladly take care of the kids so she could focus on her studies, when she was at home she wanted to be mom.  

_Right now, being a “doctor” means putting on Band-Aids and giving “all-better” kisses and I don’t want to miss those moments for a degree that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon._

Natalie scrunched up her face in confusion before nodding, “Oh yeah. A computer doctor.”

_Basically._

Oliver took Natalie’s hand and walked her over to the bench by the pond to help her put her skates on and Felicity wrapped her scarf tighter to keep the cold air off of her neck.

“How long do you think this is going to last?” she asked Laurel when she came over to join her.

Laurel laughed, “Oh not long at all.”

The dads started out trying to play a “serious” game before quickly realizing that their four years olds were more interested in chasing Roy and Thea around than scoring goals.

“Things are a little different than they used to be, aren’t they?” Felicity asked Oliver when he skated over to her.

She still remembered the first game of pond hockey she played on New Year’s Day at the Queen Mansion with all of their friends in college. When she had scored the game winning goal and first truly admitted to herself that she was in love with Oliver.

In hindsight, the love she had felt for him then was nothing like the love that had grown in her heart over the years, even through the crazy ups and downs of their relationship that led them to where they were now.

He huffed in amusement, “Yeah.” Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pressed a kiss to her cheek, “But all the most important things are still the same.”

* * *

 

After they had made it back inside and warmed up with hot cocoa, they gathered around in the family room to open presents. Rebecca and Natalie were practically buried in wrapping paper by the time they made it through their piles. Robert and Moira had taken to spoiling Rebecca like their own granddaughter, with Tommy having practically grown up as their second son and his parents unable to fill the grandparent roles.

Felicity was passed an envelope that had her and Oliver’s names on it and when she opened it, she looked at the contents in confusion, “It’s a brochure from… the resort we stayed at on our honeymoon?”

“We’re sending you two on vacation!” Thea declared. “Mom said she’d take care of your kiddos, and we all have the hockey center under control, so you will be spending the first week of the New Year in Bali. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!”

Felicity bit her lip, “Robby has never even gone a night without me yet and that’s so last minute to take off of work and—“

“That’s the good thing about working for family,” Robert interjected. “I don’t think your request off is going to get denied.”

“And I think Robby and I will be just fine,” Moira added reassuringly, her grandson sitting contently in her lap.

Oliver squeezed her hand encouragingly and she sighed, “Thank you guys. It’s been a very busy year, so some time away will be nice. And we did love Bali.”

Since it wasn’t long after they had returned that she had gotten pregnant with Natalie, that trip to Bali was their last vacation without any kids. Even though she was a little nervous to be away from them for so long, she couldn’t deny that a whole week with just Oliver sounded heavenly.

They all turned their heads at the sound of footsteps approaching and Natalie and Rebecca hopped up from where they were playing with their new toys to run towards the newest arrival.

“Aunt Sara!” they squealed in unison as they attacked her with hugs.

“Our kids are going to have no idea who they’re actually related to,” Felicity commented as she watched them in amusement.

Oliver shrugged, “What does it matter? Family is what you make it. I would say they’re pretty lucky to have so many people who love them.”

She looked around at the group of people filling the living room that she had become so close with over the years and nodded, “You’re right.” 

“Hey guys,” Sara greeted everyone when she finally made it into the living room. “My flight just got in so I thought I’d stop by before heading over to Dad’s.”

Laurel turned her wrist to check her watch, “Oh I haven’t even been paying attention to the time. We should start gathering ourselves up to go or we’re going to be late for dinner.”

They caught up with Sara before saying their goodbyes, and it wasn’t long until she and Oliver loaded up the car to head home for the evening as well.

* * *

 

“What are you looking at?” Oliver asked when he climbed into bed and curled up next to her.

After they had gotten back to the loft, they had their own celebration for the first night of Hanukkah, including Oliver making her favorite foods for dinner and Natalie watching intently as she lit the menorah and explained to her the history behind the traditions. Once the kids were in bed she had started to think ahead to their upcoming vacation that they had been gifted with earlier.

“Just doing a little shopping for our trip,” she answered, scrolling through a page of sundresses.

He looked up at her, “What makes you think you’re going to be wearing any clothes?”

Closing the laptop and setting it on her bedside table, she shifted to lie down facing him, “You don’t think we might want to leave the room at least once?”

His hand came to her waist and he pushed her shirt up to stroke her skin, “Okay, you can pack that red swimsuit that you wore on our honeymoon so we can go to the beach, but that’s it.”

_Umm yeah… there’s no way that still fits, I might as well be naked._

“Oliver… I’ve had two kids since our honeymoon.”

“So?”

She exhaled, “So I don’t exactly have the same body I did five years ago.”

_In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly have the genetics of a Victoria’s Secret model so there’s these things called stretch marks that have multiplied and my stomach’s a little softer and--_

“Mmm, you’re right. So back to plan A where we’re definitely not leaving the room, because I’m selfish and I just can’t share all of this gorgeous with anyone.” He rolled over top of her and kissed her before she could protest that that was so not what she meant. Resting his forehead against hers, he whispered, “A whole week, just you and me. We can finally catch up on that show that you’ve been telling me about while we eat room service in bed, and then I can take my sweet time making love to you without having to worry about a toddler walking in on us or a baby waking up.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around him to rub his back, “That sounds pretty amazing.”

“And no thinking about work… no checking email,” he insisted.

“I can’t even get email in Bali,” she replied cheekily.

“Nice try. That’s what you told me last time and then I found out you had been working the entire week,” he tickled her side and she squirmed.

“That’s because I had just gotten my big promotion and I was worried about impressing your Dad,” she defended herself with a pout.

He sighed dramatically, “What every man wants to hear, his wife was thinking about his father while they were honeymooning.”

She laughed, “You know that’s not how I meant it. I can assure you that you were the only Mr. Queen I was focused on while we were—“ She was interrupted by her mom radar going off at the sound of little footsteps in the hallway. “Did you hear that?”

 “Yep.” He rolled off of her. “I’ll go see what’s up.” He brushed his lips across her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”  

He returned a few minutes later, “I told her Santa wouldn’t come if she wasn’t asleep. That always worked on me when I was a kid.” Crawling onto the bed, he started to slide her shirt up, “Now where were we…”

“Oliver,” she grabbed his wrists as his comments reminded her of something. “We forgot to put the presents under the tree.” Wiggling out from underneath him, she got out of bed and tugged on his hands, “C’mon. It won’t take long, and then I’m all yours.”

They tiptoed downstairs and Oliver munched on the cookies that Natalie had set out for Santa while she started to drag the presents out of the closet they had stashed them in.

“Do you think we overdid it?” she asked, when he joined her efforts. “She already got so spoiled today and Robby is going to have no idea what is even going on.”

He laughed quietly, “You’re the one who kept coming home with more stuff, I was just in charge of wrapping it all.”

“They’re just too fun to shop for,” she pouted. “Everything is so cute, I can’t resist.”

Once they had everything arranged around the tree, she looked out the window and saw that it had started to snow. Walking over to the glass doors that led out onto the balcony, she watched as the lights of the city illuminated the falling flakes. Oliver came over to join her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and she leaned her head back against his chest.

“I was going to wait until tomorrow to give this to you, but I’m too impatient,” he whispered.  

“Yeah?”

He pressed a small metal object into her hand and when she opened it, she saw a key.

She spun around in his arms, “Is this for the house? I thought we were too late?”

While the loft had served them well, after Robby was born they had started looking for a home more suited to their growing family. They had found the perfect place, only to discover that another couple had just beat them to it.

“The husband got unexpectedly transferred to Central City for his job and they had to pull out of their contract. The realtor called me the other day and asked if we were still interested. I figured we were?”

She nodded excitedly, “Yes, yes!”

He smiled and cupped her face with his hands, “Happy Hanukkah babe.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and he drew her in for a kiss.

Resting his forehead against hers, he asked, “Now are you going to let me carry you back up to bed, or am I too much of an old man for that?”

She nipped at his bottom lip teasingly, “Hey, I never said you were an old man, I was worrying about your knee. I’m just trying to be a good wife and look out for you.”  

He ran his fingers through her hair, “You’re the _best_ wife. And I don’t really mind getting older if it means growing old with you.”


End file.
